Slayers Time!
by Masked Rose
Summary: It is a decade and a half since Try and the Slayers gang hasn't set eyes on each other in ages. But all that is about to change when Lina receives an unexpected visit from and old "friend." ^_^ Centers around Xelloss and Lina (non romantic)
1. Prologue

Synopsis: (Because those little blurbs they allow you to catch people's attention are way too short) A decade and a half after Slayers Try, a great war between the Mazoku and the humans has broken out. But thanks to an innovative new magic developed by none other than the illustrious Lina Inverse, it seems as though the humans might be victorious once and for all! The monsters' ranks have been decimated, their spirit crushed, and even the Mazoku Lords have turned their backs on the hopeless war. But if everything is going right, what is this new threat that sweeps across the land? And why has Lina received an unexpected visit from her arch enemy, who happens to be an old traveling companion.?  
  
Warning: There ends up being a lot of L/X insinuation, even though I didn't really mean for it to be that way. My personal belief is that Xelloss is a monster to the core and is incapable of feeling love. But that doesn't mean Lina can't have a crush on him! Anyway, I support A/Z, F/V, and depending on my mood L/G or G/S or L/X.  
  
Disclaimer: The Slayers were invented by Hajime Kanzaka, I believe. In any case, they weren't invented by me. I own pretty much nothing in this story and it is a purely non-profit endeavor. No harm was meant by anything written in this story.  
  
Authors Note: (It's long, but it was important to me) This story was originally written as an interactive adventure story for my little sister. Meaning, I came up with the plot and controlled all the characters except for Lina. My sis took over for Lina early on in the story and controlled all of her actions, as well as wrote most of the text concerning her. This makes for very interesting plot development, since you can never account for whatever unpredictable things your co-writer might do, and you often have to think your way out of things. However, it also makes for hard-to-read storylines and lots of inside jokes. Since I thought this plot was pretty decent and might have a chance of interesting other Slayers fans, I had the idea of posting it here, in a reworked version. So, as an experiment, I am going through the story and rewriting parts that I think are confusing, adding in details that were simply assumed by us, taking out pointless inside jokes, and generally trying to improve the overall readability. The style is still somewhat jerky and probably too wordy. If I think it necessary, I will go back and rework it again. If you read this story and have any sort of feelings about it, good or bad, I'd love to hear them. Although I write for my own pleasure, feedback always makes an artist feel extra motivated. And please, don't be afraid to give me negative feedback. I am not here to boost my ego. I'm here because I like sharing my stories with people. If I get some hints on how to become a better writer, well then I get that much more out of the experience. After all, if my works were flawless, I'd be making money of my stories right now. But I'm not. So please feel free to criticize anything I write, especially since this particular story stands a good chance of containing extra problems due to the way it was written. However, I ask you to keep your reviews free of flaming. Keeping your criticisms constructive and polite will make things much easier for everyone. Thanks for your time!  
  
Prologue  
  
Lina stumbled through the passageway, cluttered with chunks of stone and debris. Some type of small rodent scurried over her foot and vanished through a crevice in the wall. Cautiously, Lina peered into the room that opened up in front of her. It was grandly built, with a high ceiling and moth eaten tapestries on the walls. And it was full of old furniture, broken glass, and animals' nests. This had better not be another stupid dead end, she thought bitterly.  
  
For the last three years, Lina had been searching for a way to counter the monsters' vicious attacks, without any luck. And while she spent her time exploring old ruins and hidden valleys, she knew that her friends at home were fighting for their lives.and losing. More than anything she wanted to give up the search for a great weapon or a powerful spell and join her fellow men at the frontline. But Amelia had begged her to take this on, and Lina could not refuse her old friend.  
  
The moment Lina had heard the news of Prince Philionel's death in the battle of Barrow Hill, she had set a course for Seyruun. And when, upon arriving, Amelia had enlisted her aid and offered her the position of Court Sorceress, Lina could not find it in her heart to decline. After all, ever since the uprising of the monster race two years previous, Seyruun had taken many heavy blows and suffered many serious losses. And Lina Inverse did not abandon friends in need! And besides, ever since Gourry had left, Lina had felt a distinct lack of meaning in her life. The blond swordsman had felt that, without the sword of Light, he would no longer be able to fight against the kind of magic Lina often found herself up against, and would become little more than a burden to her. He had said that a bodyguard who constantly need to be protected and rescued by the person he was supposed to be protecting was a poor bodyguard indeed. So he had left to find a job where he could be of some use. And since his departure, robbing bandits had never been the same.  
  
So it was that Lina had become Court Sorceress and begun researching new spells with which to defend the kingdom against the monsters, who had mounted a surprisingly strong and sudden campaign against the humans, supposedly led by Dynast Grausherra himself. So it was that she had become a symbol of hope to the badly outnumbered people of Seyruun, and so it was that she had come to stand beside Amelia at her coronation, as well as her wedding to Prince Marthorne of a neighboring kingdom. The marriage had been Prince Phil's dying wish, as Marthorne ruled over a rich and prosperous kingdom and was able to lend many good soldiers to the cause.  
  
Amelia had been hesitant at first, but it was clear that Marthorne was quite taken with her and he offered her much needed comfort and protection in these trying times. Lina knew her royal friend had still been entertaining hopes that Zelgadis, who, after spending 10 months with her in Seyruun after the battle against Darkstar, had gone off again to seek his cure, would one day return. But nothing had been heard from the wayward chimera since his disappearance five years ago. And eventually Amelia had let it go and gotten on with her life.  
  
Now Lina found herself serving her queen by searching the known world (and some of the unknown) for something she wasn't even sure existed. After all, perhaps there was no way to turn the tide. Lately it seemed as though Zelas Metallium and Dynast Grausherra had banded together and set out to wage an all out war against humanity, for whatever incomprehensible reason. Frustrated by the feelings of doubt which ate at her heart, Lina lashed out at the collection of priceless junk heaped in every corner of the room. Wildly she swung her walking stick at a number of boxes and chests piled against one wall; they fell to the ground, scattering and breaking open with several loud crashes. Treasure spilled everywhere and a dust cloud was sent spraying into the air. Lina coughed and waved a hand to clear the air in front of her face. When the dust finally settled, Lina noticed a strange object had rolled up to her feet. It was an uncut gem, still encased in a hunk of rock. And from it, Lina could feel a strange aura radiating. Even before she bent to pick it up, the court sorceress knew she had found what she had been looking for. 


	2. Shock! A Familiar Face!

SLAYERS TIME  
  
In the lowest level of the Seyruun Royal Palace was a dungeon. In days long past it had been a series of cellars and pantries. Now, it contained those dismal creatures who were unfortunate enough to have pitted themselves against Seyruun's princess and gotten away with their lives. one of the typically dark and abandoned hallways suddenly lit up as a minor light spell broke through the deep gloom, it's flickering light casting two long shadows up against the rough stone wall.  
  
The shadows belonged to Lieutenant Hendrick, the man in charge of keeping prisoners under control, and Lina Inverse, general major of the Seyruun army. As they walked, Hendrick kept up a running commentary while Lina Inverse kept mostly to herself.  
  
"This way, General Inverse," Hendrick gestured down the winding hall towards a heavy wooden door with several locks, both magical and normal, attached. "Its cell is just down this hallway. It's amazing how efficiently your spell worked. The moment the monster stepped over the barrier, it was rendered completely useless. We were able to bring it here without any struggle."  
  
Lina gave a nod of appreciation but declined to comment. In the past seven years, since she had discovered the L-stone, she had destroyed so many of the mazoku that it hardly seemed worth mentioning. She was just surprised that one had dared to come near the city. It was common knowledge that the monster race stood little chance against Lina's recently developed magic. It stripped them of their power and left them helpless shadows of their former selves. Only the most powerful mazoku had been able to resist it, and even then, they had always turned tail and retreated to recover. No monster had come within a day's journey of Seyruun in years. They had taken to attacking the country's outer limits, ravaging small towns and villages. The once glorious army of the monsters was reduced to petty vandalism and the occasional mad attempt at revenge. But it always ended the same: with Lina victorious.  
  
"Even so," Hendrick continued after a pause, interrupting Lina's thoughts, "We believe this particular mazoku may be an official of some sort. It seems to be very dangerous and extremely powerful. I beg you to exercise the greatest caution, General."  
  
Lina smiled slightly. She was known throughout the kingdom for her quick temper and carefree attitude. Some had thought her suicidal in her early years as general. They had thought Princess Amelia crazy. Lina had proven them all wrong on both accounts. "Of course," she replied.  
  
"The real question is why it came here in the first place," Hendrick mused, voicing Lina's own thoughts. "Perhaps it was a dissident." Lina considered. It was a possibility; ever since the mazoku had discovered that Lina could use L-magic, as it was affectionately called, to drain them of all their energy, Dynast and Zelas, the ringleaders, had very suddenly disappeared from the picture. Indeed, it was rumored that they had decided to just stay tucked away safe in their respective homes until Lina, being the only known person who could control L-magic, met some unfortunate end or other. However they had given their minions orders to keep fighting, however hopeless the chances, placing their generals in charge of overseeing the war. And supposedly many of the mazoku were angry at what they felt was a complete desertion by their superiors. Some how though.  
  
"Maybe, Lieutenant," Lina responded, "but I can't really see any of them betraying their masters. Loyalty is a pretty big thing among the mazoku. And anyway, I think they'd prefer death to joining the humans."  
  
Hendrick fell silent for a ways. Then he stopped abruptly. "Here we are," he said gesturing at the entrance to the cell. "We put it in here." He reached out and unlocked the door and hesitantly swung it open. Lina peered into the ill-lit cell room and made out a dark shape being held by two heavily-armed guards. They were both equipped with Lina's enchanted brooches, jewelry which not only pleased the eye, but also contained her L- magic. It kept the prisoners constantly exposed to the magic's effects, rendering them weak and subdued. Additionally, Lina wore several enchanted bracelets herself. Still, the whole affair was so shady that she felt a little bit uneasy.  
  
"General Inverse" one of the guards said, bowing his head in respect as he stepped forward. Lina looked up. The dark figure had the form of a man. His hands were chained together and his head was bowed so that his long hair fell into his face, obscuring his features. Even so, there was no mistaking him. At that moment, the dark figure lifted his head and flashed Lina an undaunted grin.  
  
"Xell-chan!"  
  
"Lina-sama!"  
  
The trickster priest broke free from his bonds as though they were made of paper and not iron and threw himself at Seyruun's infamous general. Before she knew what was happening, Lina found herself standing in the middle of the room with the monster known as Lesser Beastmaster Xelloss reclining in her arms, his hands flung affectionately about her neck and his face just a little too close to hers.  
  
"In your dreams!" she snorted and lowered her arms, letting the mazoku general fall unceremoniously to the floor with a loud thud.  
  
Lina noticed that Hendrick and the prison guards were regarding her with a mixture of horror and amazement. She ignored them. "You know," she commented airily, "From the description they were giving me of the captive, I was expecting someone a lot more impressive."  
  
"Oi, Lina-san, that hurts," the mazoku general whined, though whether he was referring to his pride or his backside was uncertain.  
  
"General Inverse," Hendrick ventured nervously, "please be very careful. He may not look like much, but we believe he is actually very dangerous..."  
  
"No sweat," Lina brushed his worry aside. "This one is nothing special."  
  
"Oh my. I didn't come here to be insulted," Lesser Beastmaster muttered sulkily.  
  
"Then why did you come here, General? I am sure even you are aware of the boundaries set up along this city.and of their extreme effectiveness. You couldn't have believed you could sneak in here without my knowledge."  
  
"On the contrary, Lina-san. I came here just to see you." The monster gave her what was probably supposed to be an endearing smile, but which looked rather suspicious.  
  
"Uh huh," Lina's left arm slid onto her slender waist as she relaxed her weight onto one leg, "Because we both know how your unbeating mazoku heart shatters every day we don't see each other. That's why I haven't laid eyes on you these past few years."  
  
"Well, you know what they say...Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Xelloss' trademark grin widened. "Actually, Lina-san, I'm here on business. The truth is that I came here in peace, you know, white flag and all that. But your soldiers apparently don't respect the ancient rules of war." He shot a contemptuous look at the guards for good measure.  
  
"General Inverse," Hendrick stammered defensively, "There was no way we could know whether or not he was trustworthy! And we didn't want to take any risks...."  
  
Lina waved a dismissive hand in Hendrick's general direction, her gaze flickering to him a moment, "Don't let him get to you," she advised, turning back to the mazoku General, "And I suppose you have a reason beyond your overwhelming desire to tour the city and recall fond memories."  
  
"Oh, well I suppose there is the little matter of our treaty..." Xelloss left his sentence dangling, one curious eye opening slightly to regard Lina.  
  
"There is?" Lina questioned, watching that lone visible eye as if to try and see what he was thinking. However, all experience, reasoning, and pessimism she had gathered from knowing Xelloss had already made that effort fruitless long ago.  
  
"Of course! That is, I came here rather hoping that you would agree to one." The priest's smile turned sheepish.  
  
Lina thought for a moment. Abruptly, she straightened up. "Hey, you think we could move to a more. casual setting? I'm getting hungry and being stuck in an uncomfortable dungeon discussing politics with a obsessive- compulsive trickster isn't helping." Her eyes moved to regard Hendrick as she crossed her arms across her chest.  
  
"Do you really think it would be wise?" Hendrick started, but seeing the look in Lina's eyes, he gulped and cut himself off. "Well, of course, as you wish, General." With many a backwards glance at Xelloss, Hendrick escorted the pair back along the winding hallways and out of the makeshift dungeon. Xelloss seemed a bit restless as they passed the dozens of L-magic protection spells that littered the dungeons to prevent anyone escaping, but when they left the cellars behind and emerged into the warmer, friendly, and relatively L-magic free halls of the living quarters he recovered his usual composure. The two guards, who had followed a bit behind the group, now ushered them into a large, rather formal room used for minor conferences. There were several buffet tables assembled to provide refreshments for guests should the need arise, and these Hendrick now filled with non-perishable food stuffs which were stored in a nearby closet and put them at Lina's disposal.  
  
"My, my!" Xelloss said with admiration as he helped himself to a large, cushioned armchair. "Princess Amelia's residence is quite elegant. I must say, I haven't been this well-received since.oh, since Greater Beastmaster and I paid a visit to a wealthy, demon-worshipping sorcerer some 200 years ago!" At this comment, Hendrick looked quite agitated, but he refrained from voicing his feelings.  
  
"That's great, Xelloss," Lina said, sounding less than enthusiastic. "but I only moved here because I was hungry," She was proving this quite effortlessly by waving a drumstick at him, since there was already half of another in her mouth. Swallowing, she continued, "and not because I was really enthused about your whole treaty thing. I doubt if even you can talk fast enough to change my mind, unless I've forgotten something in my hunger." She rubbed a hand regretfully over her stomach.  
  
"Well now, Lina," Xelloss was suddenly all business, although his voice and expression remained jovial, "it's like this: we monsters are experiencing some. unforeseen difficulties. And we just can't be bothered to keep up our war with the humans right now. It's all very inconvenient, I understand, but we'll just have to call it off until circumstances change."  
  
"Oh, is that so?" Lina questioned, pausing to munch thoughtfully on her next mouthful. "Since the whole world revolves around you, and all." But she moved away from the refreshments after finishing the short snack with a glass of wine and sat down opposite Xelloss, leaning forward intently. "I'm sure our men could do with a break from fighting, but how do I know you won't, say, accidentally forget to mention to me that the treaty's off before you recommence with your attacks?"  
  
"Oh ho ho, Lina!" Xelloss said defensively, as though her implication stung him. But then he suddenly lapsed into silence, his face completely expressionless. After a few awkward minutes had elapsed he shrugged and said, "I guess you're just going to have to trust me!"  
  
Lina gave a derisive snort and waved her hand at Xelloss, pushing herself out of her chair and beginning to pace. "Huh, trust you?"  
  
"Listen, Lina!" The mazoku general held up a gloved hand in defense, and for once he sounded really rather serious. For the first time Lina noticed a sort of tired, creased look around his eyes. Although his physical body remained eternally the same, unaffected by the demands of time and age, he seemed somehow different. Perhaps he looked thinner or.less substantial. It was hard to explain. Perhaps it was the nearness of the L-magic charms. Lina was wearing her bracelets after all. "You may feel that this is a game to me," Xelloss continued, "but really I am in earnest. I can promise you that the human ranks will be quite safe for awhile merely because we will be too busy to attack. And lest you think this is a good opportunity to catch us at a disadvantage, let me warn you. Should the monsters fail in their current endeavor, the humans will inevitably fall as well." 


	3. Warning! A New Enemy is Revealed!

The red-headed General studied Xelloss for a long time, resting her weight against the side of her chair. She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them with a sigh, rubbing her temples with one hand, "If I ask you to explain yourself, I have a high chance of proving myself completely right about your answer. However, I can't help but wonder, is there anything you want to tell me, Xel?"  
  
"Well, there was one thing maybe." Xelloss rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully. "I'm sure you are aware, Lina-san, that the monster race is . . . shall we say, struggling. Our numbers have greatly decreased since your, hmmm, ingenious invention." Xelloss scowled a bit. "In other words, as much as it kills me to say this, we may be in need of some assistance. Of course, I understand if you object, which is why I came here merely to ask you for a ceasefire. However . . ." he leaned so close that their noses were practically touching. "Should you feel so inclined, a sorceress of your power could be very useful. Of course, I could just call a retreat and let you humans be killed along with my minions in one big, happy deathfest, but you see, I don't want that . . ." Suddenly the famous smile was back, in full swing. "I want to defeat you myself."  
  
"In your dreams," Lina retorted dryly, thrusting her palms against his shoulders and shoving them away, "You might be a little more convincing if I knew what it was that was supposed to sweep away my entire army...?"  
  
"Oww," Xelloss interrupted, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Your bracelet is giving me a headache. Keep it away from me." He sounded more irritated than usual. Lina's lighthearted smile faded a moment and her forehead creased. However, as the force of her push distanced his body from hers he seemed to grow amiable again. "Actually," he continued as if nothing had happened, "not your army. Your whole city. Your entire population. Your race." He settled himself back comfortably in his chair. Lina tried to hide her unconscious shudder. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you just what the threat is. That, of course, is . . ." he trailed off deviously, then shrugged cheerfully, ". . .a mystery to me as well!"  
  
Lina scowled half-heartedly, and shook her head, "Very funny, Xel." She muttered, settling unceremoniously into her chair again - sideways, her legs kicking leisurely over the armrest.   
  
Suddenly the mazoku grew serious again. His mood swings were beginning to become an uncharacteristic trait that Lina was not warming to. "But I have seen it," he said mysteriously. "Or what there is to be seen. It rather resembles a shadow . . . and it kills everything it touches. Monsters, too. It just keeps moving forward. Sometimes it slows down, but it cannot be stopped. And it never retreats. It's also painful, or so I would guess from the strangled screams of its victims. I, myself, had no desire to confirm my theory and no one has touched it and survived."  
  
Xelloss raised himself from his seat and wandered to the food table. He chose a piece of dried fruit and put it in his mouth, chewing it thoughtfully. He began to pace around the room, examining the furniture and decorations. Lina watched him thoughtfully for a few moments as he walked, but then drifted into her own hazy thoughts. Eventually he straightened. "Oh, yes, where was I?" Lina jumped lightly, surprised out of the recesses of her mind, "So, anyway, you can imagine that we don't appreciate this . . . thing . . . doing our work for us. The Higher Ups are keeping their distance from the whole war, and anyway, I don't think they know what it is either, or that's the impression I get. No one knows anything about it. That's why I need a talented human sorceress to give me some advice. What do you say?"  
  
"What do you think I can do against this thing?" Lina inquired curiously, still half in her own thoughts. "And you have no idea where it came from?" She stood, rubbing her hands together and mentally preparing what to tell the men and Princess Amelia. She paused a moment and sighed, brushing her bangs back and smiling softly at Xelloss, "I guess I'm just going to trust you, after all. And if this thing really is dangerous to these people or anyone else in this world, I'm sure not going to sit by and watch it. but not just for your sake, mind you." She eyed him narrowly.   
  
"Oh, of course not! I just want you to identify it, make something of it, if you can. Then we can get rid of it and we can all get back to more important matters. It'll be like it never happened. If you want information, all I can tell you is that it comes from various separate sources, that it began popping up about a year ago around old battlefields, and that, according to farmers, it has been lurking around for years, inactive. We think it's magic, possibly hand made. In fact, most of the monster race believes you made it." Xelloss laughed. "But I don't sense any recognition or pride in your manner, so I suppose I don't believe it. That was actually another reason I came. To judge your reaction to the news. If you did make it, I'll hand it to you, it's a masterpiece. But somehow, it just doesn't fit. That's all I know . . . for now." Xelloss threw up his hands and went back to his seat. "I can show you the spots where it was recently sighted. Then you can examine it for yourself. Sounds like fun, ne, Lina-san? A nice break from the tiresome ordeals of political transactions. What do you say? I've been incredibly honest and open with you. Now it's your turn. Will you let me show you?"  
  
"General Inverse," came the voice of Hendrick from the doorway. Lina had forgotten he was there. "I must protest. If this is truly Lesser Beastmaster, as you say, the one you've spoken of, well . . . Going off with the leader of our enemies is an extremely unwise idea. Monsters cannot be trusted!" He faltered and looked around. "I didn't mean to imply that you could not make a good decision. I'm only concerned, General . . .You know how many times he's pulled stunts and pranks on us!"  
  
"And I also know that he'll just keep on pulling 'em later, unless the world gets destroyed, in which case he'll be too non-existent to bother any of the other dead people." Lina rubbed her temples again and stood, balling her hands and bracing them against the nearby table, "All I need is a good glance and to see things out with my own eyes. It won't be incredibly dangerous or anything. . . I trust." She flashed Xelloss a sly look and stretched her hands far above her head, her fingers entwined, hearing the satisfying crack from her sore shoulder bones shifting position.  
  
"Of course! It's not like I'm planning to push you in, or anything!"  
  
"Yah, and if you did, I'd drag you in with me, and you know it. And then I'd come back and haunt everybody real bad. Man, it'll be good to get out again, investigating magicks, breezing through danger . . . or something like that." Smiling brightly, she winked at Xelloss, "Just like the old days, huh, Xel, old pal?"  
  
"That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say! So, when do we leave?"  
  
"After dinner!" Lina announced immediately, but then paused, "Eh, well I have to talk to Princess Amelia as well. So, are you planning on staying till I'm done, or what?"  
  
"Seeing as your L-magic prevents me from teleporting or even from returning to the Astral Plane, I suppose I'll have to. It hardly seems worth it to leave and come back. And besides, I'd love to see Amelia-san again." He stood, grinning. "Pity, though. If it weren't for your charms, I could have made such a dramatic exit."  
  
"Oh, shucks." 


	4. Havoc! Where's My Dinner!

Later, just before dinner was served, Lina found herself waiting outside Amelia Wil Tesla Fridley-Seyruun's office for an audience with her majesty. Princess Amelia had been busy all day with official paperwork; her workload had grown considerably ever since her marriage to Prince Marthorne of Fridley. Lina paced impatiently in front of the door. Even though she'd gotten used to how busy Princess Amelia had been lately, she never liked being stood up outside a closed door when she had known Amelia longer than most of the people she signed papers for. Suddenly that door tore open and a smiling Amelia appeared.  
  
"Oh, Lina-san!" Despite their years of friendship and Amelia's elevated status, Amelia still addressed Lina respectfully. She'd done it for so long now, that it was really a term of endearment more than anything. "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting. They didn't tell me who it was or I'd have come running. But now the paperwork is all done, anyway, and it's about dinner time, if I'm not mistaken, so we can go relax somewhere nice and comfortable to talk!" Amelia chanced to look into Lina's face and noticed that Lina did not look quite so exultant and lighthearted as she usually did when dinner was announced. "Oh, dear, I hope it's not bad news." Amelia said timidly as she walked with Lina down the corridor towards the dining hall.  
  
"Just the possible end of the world, no biggie," Lina fluttered her hand facetiously, and then braced her hands, intertwined, behind her head. "With your permission," she teased, flashing Amelia a wink, "I'd like to go out scouting for this new danger, and do some investigating of mine own." Her face creased with sudden worry, "I don't know, Ame-hime, everything else has had an obvious weakness, or at least was humanoid enough to seem to. But this? I'll just have to wait and see what I can do once I can see it with my own eyes. Sources say, it eats anything in its path - big unhappy blob of flesh-eating madness. Pleasant, huh?"  
  
"Wait, wait! What? End of the world!? What do you mean, Lina-san?" Amelia clutched her fists to her chin in an expression of fear and wonder.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Princess! Lina, sorceress supreme, is on the job!" Lina quickly summarized what she had heard, purposefully evading any specific mention of monsters or Xelloss. Speaking of which, or rather thinking, in her rush to see Amelia, Lina had completely lost track of where Xelloss even was. She glanced behind her absently, but it was just endless empty hallways. ". So, uh." Lina tried to pick up where she had left off, "I'm just gonna, you know, do some examining, and stuff."  
  
"Maybe I should go with you!" Amelia suggested, her eyes suddenly glinting with excitement. "After all, it's my duty as ruler to personally see to the people's safety."  
  
"I dunno, Ame," Lina commented, looking across the way at the princess, "Not only is your safety crucial, but you've lots of paper work to do." Lina bit her lip and grimaced lightly at Amelia's enthusiasm, "I'll make you a deal, if my awesome magical powers and brilliant mind don't solve the problem - I'll call on you and you can. you know, back me up." She nudged Amelia with her elbow teasingly.  
  
"Oh, all right, Lina-san," Amelia sighed. She hadn't expected Lina to agree. And she inwardly knew that Lina was right not to. But before Amelia could dwell any longer on the issue, her thoughts were interrupted by loud shrieking coming from the direction of the kitchen. Instinctively, Amelia raced towards the source of the noise with Lina at her heels. Rounding a bend in the hallway, the princess smacked right into a fleeing form, knocking them both off their feet. "Oh, excuse me!" Amelia apologized to the person, who turned out to be a young kitchen maid.  
  
"Your majesty! Your majesty!" the girl sobbed. "It's horrible! There's a strange man in the kitchens causing havoc all over. He seems completely insane!...I've never seen him before.Oh, Princess!"  
  
"There, there," Amelia paused to comfort the girl before rising to her feet continuing on her way. "I'm going to take care of it." Lina shifted weight uncomfortably in the background, hoping to Cephied himself that she was wrong.  
  
When the two women reached the kitchens, passing several more kitchen staff on the way, they found them a complete and utter disaster. Food was splattered everywhere, dishes overturned, tables broken in two.  
  
"What is going on, here?!" Amelia cried loudly, glancing around the large, gray room. Slowly a dark shape extracted itself from a shattered wood cutting table, splinters and flecks of gravy decorating his hair.  
  
"Oh my heavens," he said.  
  
"Oh, no! It couldn't be!" Amelia cried, covering her mouth with her hands. "This just can't be happening!" She looked frantically to Lina for assistance, but Lina could not see beyond the hand she had slapped over her face.  
  
"Oh, dear," Xelloss said, looking slightly cross as he pulled a sticky chunk of something out of his matted locks. He sent a glare in the direction of the head chef who was hiding under a counter, holding a knife in a defensive stance, and staring openly at him. "That was a little unnecessary."  
  
"W.w.what are you?!" the chef gasped.  
  
"And I hadn't even done anything wrong!"  
  
"Oh, shaddup!" Lina shouted, marching past crumpled tables and splattered who-knows-what on the floor to stand accusingly in front of Xelloss, "You'd better start talking, mister. And if I get... get. any." Lina paused, momentarily distracted and trying to remember what she had been about to say, "any. ah. ack!" With one eyebrow twitching in annoyance, Lina stretched forward and brushed off a particularly distracting smudge on Xelloss' nose and then straightened, her arms crossed. "Anyway, whatever I was gonna say, it was really menacing and clever, so get talking."  
  
Xelloss, who had been backing away nervously during this exchange now straightened up. "Would you mind getting away from me," he asked politely as he forcefully pushed Lina off. "You're blocking my magic." Lina frowned as she stumbled back with the force of Xelloss' thrust, her boot crunching down on a section of wood and cracking it forcibly. Xelloss then backed away from Lina and concentrated. His image flickered for a moment, wavered, and then it was back, only this time spotless and well-groomed. He smiled and his teeth sparkled like pearls.  
  
"So, now, where were we? Oh, yes. Well, you see," he gave her a charmingly innocent look, "I just wanted to prepare a special dish for you, Lina. A friendly gesture, you know." He shrugged and laughed. "I suppose I got carried away. Nostalgic, wouldn't you know. I can't help but feel a sort of comradeship with you. We did travel together quite a bit in our youth. Well.in your youth."  
  
"You wanted to prepare something?" Amelia demanded in horror. "Xelloss-san, we may have been allies of justice together at one time, but these last years, as the designated leader and mastermind of the Mazoku ranks, you have personally led an all out war against us. I'm not so sure I care to trust in your good will."  
  
"Prepare a special dish?" Lina questioned in shock, then shook her head with a laugh, "The last thing I saw you cook nearly killed us all with its smell alone."  
  
Xelloss feigned a hurt look. "Just because none of you could appreciate my talent."  
  
"Don't even! I couldn't stand it, and I can admit - I eat almost everything."  
  
"What are you talking about? It was perfectly prepared.it was supposed to be like that. It's.oh, nevermind. Why am I even trying? I should've known that lesser mortals wouldn't understand."  
  
"What was that??" Lina asked threateningly, pushing up her sleeves, and she stomped forward slowly. Xelloss' eyes opened slightly and his grin faded. "What's that, Xel? Don't like it when I get close? Whatever for? Maybe. this?" she thrust one fist in the air in front of him, her bracelets jangling with the movement. Xelloss cringed. He took one more step backwards and stumbled over a misplaced table leg. His head was lowered defensively and his face was scrunched up with pain. With a huff, Lina backed off and whirled around to face the frightened staff, "Dinner had better be prepared already - or somebody." she eyed Xelloss through the corner of her eye, "is going dooown."  
  
"Oh?" Xelloss couldn't help snorting. "And just how do you propose to accomplish that?" Noticing the aura of flames building around Lina he added quickly, "Well, if you're going to get violent, I can make certain something is prepared." Before she could comment he had somehow conjured up a wooden spoon and a questionable looking butter knife. Amelia stood frozen in her spot, her lower lip quivering.  
  
"Oh ho ho ho!" Lina had meanwhile been handing over her bracelets to the stunned Amelia and now hurried forward before aforementioned butter knife could be put into equally questionable action. "Oh no, Xel, my boy, you're not leaving my sight." She demanded, grabbing a handful of his sleeve and dragging the mazoku back over to Amelia. "Alright, Amelia, all this putting people in their places has made me really hungry. where's the grub?"  
  
Xelloss huffed, his face pulled into a pout. "Well, there's some of it over there on the floor. Oh, and there's some cream and pie filling on the ceiling. Quite good, actually. If you let me go, I could fly up there and scrape some down for you."  
  
Amelia watched, still stunned. The best she could manage was a "What is the meaning of this?"  
  
"Oh, Amelia," Xelloss grinned. "How pleasant to see you alive and well." He attempted a bow, but Lina's tight hold on him prevented it from being very gallant. "Didn't Lina-san explain to you?" He shot Lina a look. "She did explain just who it was who delivered the message, didn't she?"  
  
"Lina-san."  
  
"Oh ho!" Lina's other arm jumped behind her head anxiously, "Did I forget to mention the name of my aforementioned 'Source'? Oh, silly me, huh? All caught up in worrying about big man--and monster--eating dangers to the world and, more importantly, my dinner. I'm getting dinner, aren't I?"  
  
"Oh, Lina-san. How could you?" Amelia gasped. "You knew I'd get upset about trusting your life to a monster, didn't you, and you thought to keep it from me so that you could run out recklessly like this!"  
  
Meanwhile, some of the staff who had fled earlier returned, bearing trays of cold meat and cheese and bread. "General Inverse," one of them said apologetically, "It was the best we could manage on short notice without the use of the kitchen." The cook's assistant looked as though he was praying for L-sama to stay Lina's hand.  
  
"How thoughtful of you," commented Xelloss and he promptly picked up a piece of cheese and ate it.  
  
"Woo-hoo! Food!" Immediately, Lina's free hand was quickly emptying whatever she could grab into her mouth, but she found it a bit awkward with one hand in a death-hold on Xelloss. "Hey! Mine!" She shouted, slapping Xelloss' hand, "Don't even think about it." Pausing, she turned to Amelia, half a slice of bread in her mouth, "Youu wamf somefing?"  
  
"Oh, certainly." Amelia nodded. She dug heartily into the food, but couldn't stop herself from throwing wary glances in Xelloss' direction every few seconds.  
  
"Don't worry. I can't teleport anywhere in the range of your city, thanks to Lina-san's little magic. I'm not going anywhere fast." Xelloss pretended supreme boredom, absently cleaning under his nails. "When this is finished, I trust we can be on our way, Lina? You did say we could leave after dinner, didn't you?"  
  
"Huh, oh, yeah sure." Lina shrugged, gulping down another hastily made sandwich whole, and rubbing her stomach with one hand, "Ah. I really needed that, I guess. So, uh, Xel," she tugged absently on the sleeve she was still holding, "How far is it, cause I may wanna take something along to snack on."  
  
"At the edge of the kingdom, near a monster encampment.don't worry," he added quickly, at Lina's look. "I'll give them orders not to touch you. It would be several days worth of flying, but.if you'll let me teleport, I could take you with me and get us there in .673 seconds."  
  
"Oh, Lina-san."  
  
"Yeah, you'd better give 'em orders not to come five feet near me." Lina muttered, releasing Xelloss' a moment to crack her knuckles experimentally. "Teleport, huh? Well, it will take a lot less time. you know, Xel?" Lina grinned, slapping him affectionately on the back, "If you weren't my former travel-buddy turned arch-nemesis, I might not trust you as much as I do."  
  
"R-i-i-i-ght," Xelloss responded. "Well then, I'm ready when you are." 


	5. Alarm! The Shadow Strikes Again!

Some time--and a lot of arguing with Amelia-later, Lina and Xelloss were ready to go. Amelia sullenly sat by and watched them depart. "Take care, Lina-san," she called. "Don't let those monsters take advantage of your justice-loving heart."  
  
"Oh, she won't," muttered Xelloss dryly. He and Lina walked at a brisk pace out of the city, where, once outside the city limits, Xelloss wasted no time wrapping his arms around Lina and teleporting with her to their final destination. Teleportation was like nothing Lina had experienced. There was a fleeting moment of nonexistence and then a terrible disorientation. But in the end, she found herself standing on a grassy plain, instinctively clinging to Xelloss a little more than she cared to admit. In the distance Lina could make out tents erected at regular intervals.  
  
"The servants of my minions," Xelloss explained. "Those who can't just return to the Astral Plane when they want to rest. I'll go explain to them about the current situation. And I'll make a trip to the Astral Plane to clear your presence with the monsters. It'll only be a moment." Without waiting for a response, or a protest, Xelloss released Lina and disappeared. Only moments later, a monster emerged from the Astral Plane. And it wasn't the trickster priest.  
  
A second later, another emerged. They were big, hulking monsters with blue and red skin pigments. Their fierce eyes glinted evilly when they spotted Lina, standing alone and unprotected-or so it seemed.  
  
"Well, look who it is." One of them laughed derisively, "The little girl who leads the humans. Funny such a squirt should be giving us so much trouble. But now I think she's in over her little head. I guess this will put an effective end to the war." The monsters exchanged smirks and began advancing on Lina.  
  
"Who's a little girl?!" Lina growled forebodingly, tugging at her gloves and absently wishing she had her bracelets with her. Oh well, it just meant she'd have to cast L-magic instead, if it came to that, draining though the spell was. Then again, it might not be necessary. It was impossible to judge at first glance how strong the monsters were.  
  
"Man, I'm gonna seriously give Xelloss a word about this, next time I see that jerk - I don't care what his stupid excuse is." Just imagining the priest shrugging and admitting to his minions' disobedience - or him having betrayed Lina - just made her more angry. Her hands slipped to her side as a light formed between them, "Elemekia. Lance!" she shouted, shooting the spell directly at an advancing monster before casting a hasty Levitation and leaping into the air, calling to mind her L-magic unconsciously - the words just forming in her mouth as she watched. The magic leapt from her body and rushed into the first monster, a rather bluish dolt. He cried out in pain and dropped to the ground below, losing control of his flight.  
  
"Damn Xelloss, that traitor! What is he thinking bringing her right to our camp?!" The other teleported in and out of sight, appearing behind Lina and knocking her aside with a mighty fist. As Lina fought to keep her balance and concentration, the monster on the ground leapt up to join his brother and the two attacked hastily. But not hastily enough.  
  
Before Lina could cast so much as a fireball, the monsters stopped dead in their tracks. The blue monster's eyes grew wide and he gave a twitch. Then, quite suddenly, his body seemed to collapse in on itself. It was a very strange and disturbing sight, ending with a small pile of melted monster on the grass. The other monster gave a groan and Lina looked up to see him pierced through the midsection with a meter long stick of black magic.  
  
"What a pity," Xelloss' voice came out of nowhere. "It would appear that it was they who were the traitors after all." The mazoku priest slipped back into sight from the Astral Plane, frowning slightly. "I told them not to harm you, but it seems they didn't know what was good for them. Ah well, good riddance, I suppose," he murmured darkly.  
  
"Yeah, uh-huh. Good riddance," Lina grumbled, lowering herself gently back to the ground and pushing her hair behind her ears, "I've come to understand that monsters seldom do what's good for them - no matter what's on the line." She was half teasing and half serious and shrugged.  
  
Xelloss continued, "Well, I doubt anyone else will be fighting over the chance to be killed by me, so we should be relatively safe. Perhaps they didn't realize I was serious. . ." Xelloss shook it off and turned to Lina. "Shall we, then?" he asked, offering his hand. He didn't wait for rejection; instead, he took Lina's wrist and began to direct her towards a clump of trees which, as Lina noticed for the first time, seemed to be completely dead. It was as though winter had fallen over this one patch of land. The trees were leafless, the grass brown and shriveled, and no other life whatsoever adorned the area.  
  
"There, you see it for yourself. But don't go too close." Xelloss gestured towards the area which also seemed to be slightly more heavily shaded than the surrounding earth, as though the sun was being filtered through a screen. Apart from this, there was no way to tell the thing apart from regular land. It didn't even have a magical aura. "You can see the border of it advancing by watching the grass die. So long as your feet touch green, you should be safe." He turned to appraise her reaction. "Well," he said cheerfully, "go do your thing."  
  
Lina flashed him a quick, half-hearted, glare and took a few steps closer to the supposed 'edge.' "Clarify this, Xel. If I'm standing in an unaffected area, but I reach my hand across the boundary, will it kill me?" She was itching to know if this thing had any substance at all, beyond what was mostly not visible.  
  
"There's only one way to find out!" The mazoku said happily. He looked up. Lina was staring daggars at him. "Just kidding, just kidding! No, it won't kill you outright. It will just suck your energy dry. It absorbs all energy from anything that comes in contact with it. Watch." Xelloss raised his arms and held out his ruby staff. With a startling flash, a burst of black lightning jumped from the staff's tip and raced in the direction of the thing that wasn't a thing. Upon reaching the darkened area, the lightning simply disappeared, as though Xelloss had been shooting rocks into water, their small surfaces becoming lost in the rippling liquid. Except that here there wasn't any liquid, not any ripples, nor any sign whatsoever of a substance. The lightning simply vanished into thin air. "I suggest a magical probe if you can think of one that won't merely get eaten up. Or run some test on it. Use a dead stick or the like if you want to try to make physical contact with it. So long as it isn't in direct contact with your body, you should be fine."  
  
Lina nodded as Xelloss talked and set to work on whatever she could think of, soon forgetting her surroundings and intent on her exertion.   
  
@@@  
  
Some time later, Lina resigned herself wearily and sat upon a mossy stump a few feet away from the shadowy menace. She was fairly certain, after her investigation, that the thing was not a sentient being. It seemed almost to be made of magic itself, except that it gave off no aura of any kind. She had come to the conclusion that it had, in fact, no physical body, which was why the trees and rocks in its path sustained no physical damage, other than death. The thing must exist on a purely magical or astral level.  
  
Xelloss was sitting on a rock watching her idly. For a moment his image flickered and vanished, but it returned again without delay. He stood and approached her. "I have news that might interest you, Lina-san." He said. "Apparently the thing has attacked another area, closer even to your human territories. Enough to have claimed both monster and human lives in the area. Some of the bodies were saved by my people, dragged to a safe distance. It may benefit you to examine these since they will carry the effects and residue of any magic laid on them and yet will pose no danger to your safety."  
  
"Hmm. I hope there's not been too much damage." Lina commented, though with the looks of this thing, that was a hopeless statement. "Let's check it out."  
  
A bit awkwardly, Lina and Xelloss repeated the method of travel from earlier, this time arriving in the capital city of a small border province of Seyruun. Something about it struck Lina as very familiar. As they walked they noticed a distinct lack of population about the city and apart from a few wary eyes, no one came to meet them. A few minutes into their trek, Lina recalled where she had seen this city before. It was the capital of the small territory given to Zangulus and Martina after the former princess and her swordsman husband had proven themselves to be valuable allies by defeating a monster captain in a crucial battle some years ago. Lina had not seen either of the couple since they had moved in to their new home, the castle which loomed directly ahead of Lina at that very moment.  
  
Off the side of the castle, in a stone courtyard were heaped the bodies of several half-mazoku beings. All of them appeared unharmed, but were undoubtedly dead, and being half-human, their physical form remained behind in the material plane. Their eyes stared straight ahead, glazed over and dull. Lina approached them cautiously with Xelloss at her heels.  
  
Just then a young man--a page boy from his dress-approached Lina, panting and trembling. "General Inverse!" he cried in recognition. "You must come save us! Someone has attacked our city! The royal family is in desperate trouble! Please come and help us!" the page gestured excitedly at the castle gates, jumping up and down a bit from excitement and fear.  
  
"Hey, calm down, show me the way," Lina demanded instantly, a million things running through her head, the foremost being the safety of the royal family - Martina, I know we don't really like each other, and we really don't get along, but I sure hope you're okay. I hope you're taking care of your girl, Zangulus. Oh, please be alright.   
  
Upon entering the castle, the pageboy led them down several hallways, through some rooms and into a large bedchamber. Lina noted that he carefully avoided certain dark patches on the stone floor when walking. In the bedchamber was a large, luxurious bed surrounded by incense candles and various nightstands. A beautiful gleaming sword was hung on the wall like a trophy, and the backboard of the bed had been carved into an intricate representation of a strange and monstrous being. A small child huddled beside a closet, apparently asleep. Her cheeks, however, were stained with recent tears.  
  
The pageboy was jumping around with agitation and it took Lina a moment to notice something that had escaped her before. There were two forms lying on the ground at the foot of the bed. "Oh, dear. Miss Martina." Xelloss said quietly as he regarded the prostrate forms. 


	6. Dismay! What's happened to Martina?

It was indeed Martina, her blue ringlets dangling limply against her pale face. "Lina.?" she whispered, looking up at her visitors. Lina saw that she clung to her husband who lay face down on the rug.  
  
"Martina!" Lina cried worriedly, and was prepared to rush over when she nearly put her foot down in a patch of suspicious darkness and her pace slowed, and halted.  
  
"Thank goodness you're here," Martina said, unusually placid and gentle, especially considering she was not particularly fond of either Lina or her mazoku companion. "Everything will be ok, now, won't it, Zangulus, darling?" Zangulus made no response. He appeared to be unconscious. Seeing Lina's curiosity, Martina made an attempt at movement. "No, don't come nearer! It'll drain you as it did me. It saps all of your life away, your energy. Empties you. You mustn't come near it. And keep Marzipan far away too, won't you?" Martina indicated the child. "You will keep her safe? Zangulus and I won't be much help, I'm afraid. We just need some rest." Martina smiled weakly. "Right, Zangaulus?" Zangulus still made no reply.  
  
"Of course, Martina," Lina had been nodding anxiously during this speech and now waved her hand at the blue-haired princess, "Alright, stop talking, Martina. Conserve your energy," she muttered a hasty healing spell and sent it to the two, but though the magic certainly channeled through her body and into the royal couple, it seemed to simply be swallowed up by something in Martina without producing any effect.  
  
"Tell me one thing," Lina prompted hurridly. "What happened? And how long ago?" she glanced at the floor and then at her former traveling companions, wondering if she could reach them without falling prey to the strange void, or if they themselves might not be a danger to her now. Xelloss moved towards the child and picked it up, cradling it in his arms and looking it over curiously. It had black hair, intensely curly, and a cute, heart- shaped face.  
  
"Oh, Lina! I don't know what happened . . . " Martina made some gesture, the meaning of which was not clear to Lina. "Oh, Zangulus, perhaps it was the curse of Zoamelgustar! Perhaps he's come at last to reclaim the world!" She laughed, but the effort seemed to overcome her and she was soon silenced. However this time, her urging of Zangulus was enough to make him turn over and face Lina at last. What met Lina's eye made her start back in horror. Zangulus was not asleep at all. His eyes were wide open.but they did not see. His limp limbs were draped over Martina in a semblance of life, but Lina could see that he no longer breathed or moved. Zangalus was dead.  
  
Lina stumbled clumsily backwards without thinking, one hand half-raised to her mouth. As she did, she brushed against a patch of shadow along her path. Both surprised, and suddenly pained, Lina slipped to her knees and pressed a hand to her chest to catch her breath. She heard a startled exclamation come from Xelloss and in a moment he was by her side. Though only for a moment, before it had become inactive, the residue had begun to slowly process the energy from her with startling efficiency. Pulling herself to her feet, Lina hurried to regain the space she had lost, wary of her way this time, but found herself breathing doubly hard for the next few minutes.  
  
"M-a-rtina," she groaned wearily, "Are you still being drained? Can I get close to you or anything - anything at all I can do to help..."  
  
"I.I don't think it's got me anymore. It's just that I'm...so weak. I ... It just appeared in our castle....came right through the walls! We didn't know what it was until people started dropping down dead...Zangulus...he tried to rescue the people...tried to attack. And then I saw him...get hit by it and he was falling...so I ran to catch him and drag him away...It got me then, when I caught him, but I managed to drag him here, away from it...So now he'll be safe!"  
  
"Hmmm," said Xelloss, shifting the child's weight in his arms. "It would appear to have drained her of so much energy that she is close to death. She's no longer in its range, so it can't harm her further, but the damage is already done. Unfortunately, the stuff apparently infects the vicitm's body. Thus, when you cast a healing spell, it is merely eaten up by the Shadow, much as you saw with my Lightning Attack earlier. Only the strongest are able to force the Shadow out of their bodies." He arched an eyebrow and looked back to Lina. "Speaking of which, you'd best try to expel yours. We haven't noticed that it causes any further damage after contact is broken, but then again, most people don't live past a few minutes, so we've never really had a chance to experiment."  
  
"Later," Lina waved her hand impatiently and knelt beside Martina, "I'll do... whatever I can, anything you ask."  
  
In Xelloss' arms, Marzipan stirred in her sleep. "Lina...Xelloss..." Martina started again, ignoring the pain. "Will you take our daughter with you? Get her out of here?" She paused for a breath. "You've got to save the kingdom, Lina. Don't let this thing kill anyone else. Don't let it win. Promise me you'll avenge my people. I'm not up to it myself right now. I...I'm just so tired. I need to rest...Oh, Zangulus, darling, don't worry. I'll never leave your side..." Martina's voice trailed off and her eyes fluttered closed with exhaustion. In a few moments, her whole body relaxed.  
  
"I... promise..." Lina responded slowly, pulling herself resignedly to her feet. She was drained physically, and mentally, and it just gave her the overall impression of being very tired.  
  
"I do believe she's dead," Xelloss pronounced, using a toe to cautiously prod the body. The pageboy, who had been watching the entire exchange from the doorway, now stepped forward, trembling.  
  
"Xelloss, is it?" He asked in a shaking voice. "I know who you are...You're the monster general! The Lesser Beastmaster!"  
  
"Oh gods..." Lina sighed, her palm braced against her forehead.  
  
"Oh, my! Pleased to make your acquaintance." Xelloss would have scratched the back of his head nervously if he hadn't been holding Marzipan. The pageboy looked furious and before Lina could do anything, he yelled, "MONSTER!" at the top of his lungs. The three heard noise further down the corridor and suddenly the telltale sound of many footsteps clattering against stone. Xelloss carefully set Marzipan down, anticipating that he might have to move quickly. From various other rooms in the castle a large group of peasants, handmaids, servants, and merchants appeared, armed with various weapons from pitchforks to magical instruments, and all storming towards Xelloss.  
  
"Oh, dear! Now looks like a good time for me to be on my way!" Xelloss said, smiling brightly at the rabble and taking a step backwards. Just as the group reached where he was standing, he vanished. Lina stepped forward cautiously, apparently being ignored, and slipped her hand into Marzipan's and drew the child slowly backward - watching out for dark patches as she went. "Stay here," she whispered, "Right here, okay? Don't move." She hoped the child knew what she was saying.  
  
"That's what you think!" a bearded man said to the air where Xelloss had been. He was dressed in the robes of a royal sorcerer. Completely ignoring Lina, he reached into his gown and pulled out an amulet which Lina instantly recognized. It was a strong L-magic amulet. Lina remembered presenting it to Martina as a gift when she and Zangulus had been given this province. She had wanted it to protect the distant city from monsters' attacks. Ironic that it had been unable to protect them, in the end.  
  
The sorcerer held out the amulet to the place where Xelloss had vanished and muttered the words of the L-magic spell. No one other than Lina had proven strong enough to cast the magic unaided, but thanks to several amulets Lina had made, sorcerers around the outer territories were able to use the spell against attacking monsters by calling on the power enchanted in the stone. Now, the stone glowed and suddenly sent long tendrils of magic reaching out. The same magic that had prevented Xelloss from teleporting in Amelia's palace, now surrounded his spirit and forced it back out of the Astral Plane.  
  
The moment Xelloss' body reappeared, it was enveloped in the sparkling aura of L-magic. He cried out in agony as the magic coursed through his body, mercilessly stealing his black magic energy. Lina had rarely seen a monster powerful enough to break free from the L-magic's hold, but Xelloss, with a loud cry, raised his hands and blew the sorcerer back with a blast of magic. Giving the child a last glance, Lina stood rather slowly, as she caught her breath, and maneuvered her way towards the mob, "Wait, wait a second," she called, though obviously they paid her no mind at the moment.  
  
Unfazed, the man ran up to Xelloss before the mazoku had a chance to regain his strength, holding the amulet in front of him. Driven back by the amulet, much as he had been by Lina's bracelets, Xelloss stumbled step after step away from the sorcerer, paying no heed to where his feet landed. Still adamantly ignoring Lina, the sorcerer suddenly lunged forward, causing Xelloss to leap back...right into a patch of darkness. 


	7. What? The Origin of the Shadow Revealed!

A/N: I still think this fic could stand to be totally rewritten in order to improve consistency of style and flowing plot movement, but I just don't have time for that right now. And since so few people even bothered to read this anyway, I wasn't gonna bother doing anything with it. But I feel bad for those wonderful, kind people who actually reviewed. I know I hate it when a story I am reading just stops updating and leaves me hanging, so here's to you, Cynical Angel, and anyone else who actually likes this.

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"Nooo!" Lina's shout of concern was drowned out by the mazoku priest's own scream. It echoed all about the stone room and terrible pain contorted his face as his entire body was consumed by the Shadow. His hands twitched uncontrollably and his eyes glazed over. But Lina could see he was fighting it, resisting it with all his strength. And he was the fourth most powerful mazoku in the entire world... The sorcerer, meanwhile, looked on smugly. 

Biting her lip with frustration, Lina dashed forward, miraculously avoiding the dark patches herself, swept right past the sorcerer – but not before knocking the amulet out of his hand – and made it to Xelloss' side. "Xel, be alive, c'mon," she muttered and without a second thought, forced her hand into the Shadow and grabbed Xelloss' arm, pulling on him as fast as she could before she began feeling very drained and she stumbled. Miraculously, Xelloss' body came out of the thing. He fell to his knees, panting, eyes squeezed tightly shut. The other humans in the room watched her in horror. "General Inverse!" the pageboy cried. But Lina had little time to defend her actions. With the amulet on the floor, the sorcerer was momentarily helpless. Xelloss, still crouched on the floor, suddenly began to laugh a bit manically. With a start, he leapt up, black lightning splaying from his fingers, eyes opened into wide slits that glittered with malice. Before Lina could react, every one in the room, except Xelloss and herself, was dead. 

"Damn you, Lina Inverse!" he growled darkly. But then his demeanor changed. He began to laugh lightly. "Oh, Lina, you really got me this time. To think I, the trickster priest, was so completely had. I truly believed that you had no hand in the making of the shadow. I must have had a soft spot for you, after all. But now I see differently. Lina, you truly are my greatest adversary." He held out a hand to support himself, shaking slightly. "In thousands of years, no one has ever tricked me so perfectly. Beat me at my own game. Out manipulated me!" He laughed again. Then his closed eyes opened once more, dark, narrow eyes. "But now that your true colors are shown, I'm afraid we can no longer be allies!" 

"Xel!" Lina coughed, still on her knees where she had fallen and helplessly watched the priest at work. "What are…you talking…about?" She was trying to unscramble her mind and force herself not to feel tired at the same time. "I…don't understand." She pressed her hands against her face from her own mental weariness, and brushed back her hair with a dead beat sigh. "How the hell… can you accuse me… of having betrayed you…with no evidence, I might add…after I trusted you…despite everything?" Lina struggled to her feet. Once there, she felt a bit better and stretched, beginning to feel a bit angry instead. But all her casual anger and half-built accusations were, however, covering up the sudden chill she felt at seeing Xelloss in his element. Those eyes never failed to unnerve her, just a bit, each time. 

"No need to play the indignant innocent, Lina-san." Xelloss smirked. "Did you think I wouldn't notice? I've spent enough time around your damn bracelets and enchantments in the last 24 hours to have developed a very good idea of what L-magic feels like. And do you know what happened when I fell into that black patch? Nothing. It was like falling out of water into water! You made that one mistake when you hatched this plot. You forgot that I might recognize your style…and survive." Xelloss retrieved his staff from the floor where it had fallen and used it to support himself as he stood. For the first time since Lina had met him, he really was using it as a walking stick. She noticed that his physical form seemed slightly transparent , and from time to time it flickered, as though he were having trouble keeping up the illusion. But the deaths of the villagers and her own pain and confusion seemed to be nursing him back to health.

"And I even understand why you saved me," he continued. "It's no good that that idiot sorcerer pushed me in. You wanted to do it yourself. I'll bet you were elated when I came to ask your help with this. The perfect opportunity for you and me to be alone near these things. Of course, I'll admit I didn't really think you would sacrifice human lives, especially those of former comrades, but then you and Miss Martina never really did get along, did you?" 

Shocked and furious at this accusation, Lina clenched her fists hard enough for her nails to leave red marks on her palms. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about, you lame-brain! I didn't create this thing! I had nothing to do with any of this!" Beginning to feel ill, Lina turned her back determinedly on Xelloss – not exactly the smartest thing to do – and made her way towards Marzipan and the girl's deceased parents, one hand braced against her cheek as though keeping her head on. She knelt beside the child and brushed back her hair, blinking in surprise when she noticed the child was alive, and safe. Somehow, she must have been outside the range of Xelloss' attack. 

"Don't worry, hon, you're gonna be safe now. I promised Martina that much." She glanced over at the entwined corpses and chewed on her lip, wondering how she could possibly get them both back to Seyruun herself. Plus, Marzipan. "Alright, do me a favor and go glare menacingly at that naughty man over there while I figure something out – but don't get too close, and yell reeeally loud if you feel threatened." She pointed behind her – though for all she knew, Xelloss might already have left – and moved towards the couple. 

Marzipan, having just woken up and being completely clueless, nodded and walked silently over to Xelloss. She plopped herself on the floor in front of the mazoku and proceeded to glare at him. Xelloss blinked and his eyes returned to their normal cheery state. "You sound angry, Lina-san," he commented casually. "Could it be that you're telling the truth? It would be ridiculously idiotic of me to fall for the same weakness twice, and Beastmaster would surely have my head, and yet…" He bent down and reached out a hand towards the child. 

"When will my Mommy wake up?" Marzipan asked innocently. Having forgotten Lina's warning, she reached out and met Xelloss' hand halfway 

"Oh dear, I'm afraid she's not really going to wake up ever again." Xelloss said bluntly. He reveled in the child's confusion and sadness. 

"Never again?" 

"Nope, never." He sounded disturbingly cheerful about the fact. Marzipan sniffed and looked back at Lina. 

Lina glanced up and smiled – though it was only a shadow of her usual grin. She stood and pocketed something, walking over to Marzipan, "Good job, hun, how about we get out of here and go meet a nice lady who'll give you lots of food?" Food, of course, being the most important thing to everyone, as we all know. 

Marzipan nodded eagerly, her black ringlets bouncing. "If only the kid could fly…" Lina mused. "I could take one of them, but I would have to rest a lot… what did you say before, 6 days or something flight?" 

"Could it be possible you are actually unaware of what you've done?" Xelloss pondered quietly. 

"I don't feel I have to defend myself to you, Xelloss." Lina retorted without bothering to favor him with so much as a sideways glance.

"Fine then." Xelloss sighed, unconcerned. "There are other ways of finding out the information I need. Perhaps I should pay a certain blond swordsman a visit. If the Shadow doesn't affect him, I'll continue to believe you created it. If it does, I'll believe you when you say you didn't create it, as I am fairly certain you would never willingly hurt him. A foolproof plan!" Xelloss winked at Lina, looking very pleased with himself. 

Lina instantly dropped Marzipan's hand and grabbed Xelloss' collar, standing on tip-toe in order to look him in the eye. "Don't you dare hurt Gourry!" she hissed, "I don't really care if you believe me or not, but when you start including my friends, that's a bit too far, buster." 

"Oh, you'll care," Xelloss informed her. "If you don't convince me that you're innocent, I **will** hurt your friend. Or attempt to anyway. As I said, if you're lying, he shouldn't be any worse for the wear." Xelloss vanished from the physical world, just to prove to Lina how ineffectual her grip on him was. His voice, however, continued on. "So, maybe now you're more interested in discussing the matter with me?" 

"What's there to- oh, nevermind that," Lina kicked a nearby bedpost, just to hurt something. "What do you want? Proof? Something besides hurting my friends that will convince you…" she glanced around, trying to think of something to hold off the trickster from carrying out his plan, "Ah, ah…hey, what about me? If I made it, would it hurt me?" 

"All right, Lina-san," Xelloss agreed amiably, reappearing in front of her. "It's a deal. If you jump in and it kills you, I'll believe you." 

Lina stiffened, but turned to face the horrible creation with a grimace, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "Damn you, Xel." 

"If you deny my accusations, then I must confess I don't know why you should risk your life to save me," the damnable monster in question reminded her. "But the most important question is: have you ever felt L-magic? I mean, have you ever cast it or a variant of it on yourself?" 

"No, it's not like I've ever needed to drain myself of my energy." Lina shrugged, glancing over at Marzipan and a bit torn. "Damn it, I promised Martina. Jeez, Xel, I don't know. I guess I saved you because…well, that's what people do when their pals are in trouble." 

"Pals, hmmm?" Xelloss repeated but didn't push it. "All right then, indulge me. Cast L-magic on yourself. It is designed to drain black magic only, so it will not destroy you, only deplete your resources. And I know you have black magic in you, so don't deny it. Go ahead." 

"Like I'd bother denying something stupid like that," Lina muttered, calling upon the words for her L-magic. Although the amulets automatically drained any nearby mazoku, she had made sure that their effect on humans was null. Even a student of the dark ways would have felt nothing at their nearness. And though L-magic would cancel out any black magic attack Lina used, she had never felt it herself. It was a strange thing, to cast an attacking spell on oneself, but Lina shrugged and obliged Xelloss. 

Almost instantly she felt the strange sensation—one of being sucked dry. The spell was absorbing her dark magic, draining her energy; she felt tired and weak, like something was eating her slowly from the inside out………and she recognized the sensation. 

It was identical to that which she had felt both times when she touched the black shadow. True, this spell was much weaker, and focused only on black magic as opposed to one's very life force, but it was definitely the same thing. And not just the effects, but the feel, the signature of the two magics, was the same as well. Although the shadow gave off no magical aura, it had the lingering aftertaste of a spell. 

"Do you see what I mean now?" Xelloss asked smugly, sensing Lina's confusion and growing doubt. "It's very familiar, no? You didn't recognize it before because you had never experienced the feel of L-magic. I myself had not had enough exposure to it to notice the similarity either. But lately, I've grown to know the feeling quite well. And I instantly recognized its magical signature when I touched the Shadow. And you are the only one strong enough and experienced enough to use L-magic, is that not so?" Xelloss leaned casually against the wall and drew a hand through his hair. "What I mean, Lina-san, is that whether or not you meant to, you created this thing. The only thing that remains to be seen is whether you purposely attacked the monster race with it, or whether you created it quite by accident." 

The mazoku general folded his arms across his chest. The fact that his accusations had not been ungrounded after all and were apparently at least partially accurate gave him a condescending air. Marzipan, who had been watching everything intently, began to bore of the conversation she could never hope to understand. She wandered over to her mother's fallen form, curled up beside her, stuck her thumb in her mouth, and closed her eyes tightly. 

"I… I created it?" Lina muttered, hands falling limply to her side, "I killed Martina and Zangulus." She looked over at the two bodies, and the child curled up with them. "I don't get it, what… how could this thing come into existence, anyway?" she backed up a bit and set herself down onto the bed wearily. 

"That's what I intend to find out." Xelloss announced. "And anyway I'm feeling under the weather, so to speak. I think I'll be making my exit now. Take care, Lina." 

"Wait, Xel…" she stood earnestly, "Will I… see you again?" 

"Lina, Lina, **that** is a secret!" And he was gone. And Lina smiled, because that was the response she had been looking for.


End file.
